


Especially You

by JCapasso



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso
Summary: Elena wasn't able to deny her feelings for Damon when he confronted her and he proved that she actually 'would' kiss him back.Starts from 2x01 Damon doesn't kill Jeremy
Relationships: Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

Elena was getting ready for bed, trying to forget the awful day she’d had and the buried feelings that it stirred up. When she went back into her room he jumped at the sight of Damon sitting on her bed. “You scared me.” 

Damon turned to look drunkenly at her. “Just doing my part in the neighborhood watch,” he quipped. 

“Thanks,” Elena said moving over to toss her towel in the hamper. “For um…for looking out for us…for me.” He really did do so much to help. More than even he would admit. She would have considered the idea insane a few months ago, but he deserved her thanks. 

“That’s me. Trusted bodyguard…calm in crisis,” he slurred. 

“Have you been drinking?” she asked worriedly, noticing how off he was. When he held up his thumb and forefinger in a ‘little bit’ gesture that she knew was way under-exaggerated if his state was anything to go by, she started to get nervous. “And you’re upset. That’s…not a good combination.” He may have turned a corner and become almost a good guy, but he still had a tendency to fly off the handle and do stupid and tragic things. 

“No, I’m not upset,” Damon said swaying slightly. “Upset is an emotion specific to those who care.” 

“Come on, Damon. That’s a lie. You care,” she said gently. 

“You’re surprised that I think that you would kiss me back? You can’t imagine that I’d believe that you’d want to?” he asked hurt. 

“Damon…”

He ignored her and continued. “That what we’ve been doing here…means something?” His face turned hard. “You’re the liar, Elena. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it.” He got up and walked towards her slowly. “And you’re lying to me. And you’re lying to Stefan. And most of all you’re lying to yourself,” he said desperately. “And I can prove it,” he finished, making a split-second drunken decision that he was probably going to regret. 

“No…” Elena saw what was coming the second before his lips met hers. She managed to resist and push him away despite how hard it was. “Damon, don’t…what’s wrong with you?” she asked desperate to keep him from doing that again. 

“Lie about this,” he snapped, he running his hands through her hair as he got ready to kiss her again. 

“Stop it. You’re better than this. Come on,” she tried to reason with him. 

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Damon told her, leaning in for another kiss, just desperately needing to feel her lips against his again. Just one more time. Even if it was the last time. He was too drunk to even care right now.

Elena felt the kiss to her bones, just like the last one and she lost the ability to resist. Her hands that had been on his wrists trying to push him away, relaxed their grip and she couldn’t help but kiss him back this time. It had been hard enough to resist last time, but now she was lost. It lasted a long moment before Damon pulled back with a smug look. “See? You did kiss me back.” 

“Damon…” she breathed out, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. 

“Goodnight, Elena,” he said with a smirk before jumping out the window. That was all he wanted. To break through her denial and get her to admit /something/. 

Elena sank onto her bed in tears the moment he was gone and Jenna stepped into the room. “Are you okay, honey?” she asked moving over to sit beside her and pull her into a hug. 

“What’s wrong with me, Aunt Jenna?” Elena asked miserably. 

“What do you mean?” Jenna asked worriedly, brushing her hair back. 

“I have the most loving, attentive, caring boyfriend in the world, but I have to go and fall in love with his brother. I’m a horrible person,” she cried. 

“Oh sweetie,” Jenna said sympathetically, hugging her tighter. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You can’t help who you fall in love with. It doesn’t make you a horrible person. It’s not like you’ve been sneaking around behind his back or anything. Your feelings are beyond your control.”

“What do I do, Aunt Jenna?” 

“If you want my advice, first you need to let Stefan go. Even if you don’t decide to go anywhere with Damon, it’s not fair to him to string him along,” she suggested. 

Elena nodded. This was Matt all over again. She had strung him along for so long when she just wasn’t into him anymore. This was a little different though. “I still love Stefan,” she told her. 

“I know,” Jenna told her, running a soothing hand through her hair. “But if you’ve been fighting your feelings for Damon and they still came through anyway…”

“Then that means they’re stronger,” Elena got it. “You’re right. I can’t keep leading Stefan on like this, but…it’s Damon…”

“You don’t have to decide what you want to do about that right this minute,” Jenna pointed out. “You can take your time. You /should/ take your time.” 

Elena sighed heavily. “Okay. That makes sense,” she sniffled, wiping her tears. 

“So what brought all this on?” Jenna asked curiously. 

“Damon came by,” Elena told her. “There was this stupid argument and he let slip to Stefan that he’d had a dream about me or something and we’d kissed,” she tried to find a way to explain it without going into the whole Katherine lookalike thing. “I told Damon that the idea that I would ever kiss him back was ridiculous and I guess it hurt his feelings because he came by and told me off. He said that I was lying to him, to Stefan, and to myself and then he kissed me to prove it.” 

“He kissed you?” Jenna asked. “Knowing that you’re with his brother?” 

“He was a little drunk,” Elena explained. “See on top of all this and the argument and all, one of his exes just came to town and was being horrible to him and told him that no one would ever want him when they could have Stefan instead, so he kinda…” she shrugged. 

“Ouch,” Jenna winced. “That had to hurt.” 

“Yeah. I mean I found out that Damon was in love with me a couple weeks ago. His ex told me, trying to stir up trouble,” she didn’t say that it was a different ex. That would get too complicated. 

“How did she know?” Jenna asked confusedly. 

“I’m not sure, but Damon didn’t deny it and looked more than a little uncomfortable when she said it, so…”

“Wait she told you that while Damon was right there?” Jenna asked distastefully. 

“And Stefan too.”

“Wow she sounds like a real bitch,” Jenna told her. 

“Oh she is,” Elena nodded. “But since she played both Damon and Stefan and they were both with her at one point, it really hit him hard what she said about no one ever choosing him over Stefan.” 

“And then you’re with Stefan while he’s in love with you and you react like that to the idea of kissing him,” Jenna nodded. “I can’t really blame the guy for getting wasted. Still doesn’t make what he did right though.”

“No, I know,” Elena said honestly. “But I do get it. And he wasn’t wrong about me lying to everyone including myself.” 

“Well now that you know how you feel, I think you have some decisions to make,” Jenna said, giving her a squeeze before getting up, seeing that she was feeling better now. Jenna had done all she could. It was in Elena’s hands from here. Once Jenna left, Elena fell back on the bed and groaned. This was a nightmare. Why did Damon have to come stir all that crap up? Couldn’t he have just left well enough alone?

Stefan knew that Damon had been there and that he wasn’t in the best state of mind, so he rushed over to Elena’s house to make sure that she was okay. When he heard her crying, he almost went up, but then he heard Jenna go in so he waited. Broadcasting that he could jump in the window wouldn’t go over well. Best to wait until she was alone. Stefan froze in shock and the pain washed over him when he heard Elena say that she was in love with Damon. Part of him knew that he should leave and stop listening now, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He had to know. 

He heard Jenna tell her that she couldn’t help who she fell in love with and he knew that. He wasn’t angry with her. That didn’t make it hurt any less though. While he was glad that she still loved him, the fact that she loved Damon more was hard to take. When he heard that Damon had come by and kissed her, he was pissed. The fact that he was drunk and hurting made him a little less so, but not much less. When he heard Jenna leave Elena alone, he decided that going up there was the worst thing he could do right now, so he left.


	2. Chapter 2

Stefan got home to find Damon pacing in front of the fire, obviously still drunk, and he walked over and punched him out. He remembered what he’d said earlier about them needing to stick together against Katherine and how it was a good thing that Damon was actually feeling something again, but that was before. He knew that he couldn’t do this and that trying would do more harm than good. “What the hell, Stef?” Damon asked confusedly as he picked himself up off the floor. 

“You know you deserved it,” Stefan snapped before storming upstairs. 

Damon just blinked and shrugged before refilling his drink and plopping on the couch. He wasn’t sure what Stefan was talking about but he was probably right anyway. Damon knew that he usually deserved it. He didn’t think any more of it until Stefan came down carrying three large bags. “What are you doing?” he asked. 

“Leaving,” Stefan told him. “If Elena comes looking for me, give her this.” He handed over a sealed envelope with Elena’s name on it. He thought about telling Damon not to read it, but honestly, he didn’t even care at the moment. If Damon wanted to invade her privacy that was on him. Stefan was done. 

“Wait…why are you leaving? Where are you going? When will you be back?” Damon asked. 

“Goodbye, Damon,” Stefan said, declining to answer any of his questions as he headed out the door. Damon huffed but decided not to go after him. His jaw was still hurting from the last time. Whatever bug crawled up his ass, he would get over it. He always did. Damon was a little too drunk to try and figure it out at the moment. 

Elena wasn’t too worried when Stefan missed school the next day. She was a little worried when he didn’t answer his phone, but Damon always had a habit of coming looking for her if Stefan was out of contact so she was sure he was fine. Probably just handling some vampire business or something. As the days passed, she started getting more and more worried and after the fourth day without seeing him or being able to contact him, she bit the bullet and went to his house. She’d been trying to avoid that because of Damon, but she didn’t have much choice now. 

When she rang the bell, Damon answered the door. “Is Stefan here?” she asked. 

“No, but he asked me to give you something. Come on in and I’ll go get it. If I can find it,” Damon muttered the last part. 

“If you can find it?” Elena asked incredulously. 

“Well I was a little drunk when he gave it to me,” Damon shrugged defensively. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back.” 

Elena rolled her eyes and went to sit on the couch while she waited. When he came back about ten minutes later and handed her a letter she looked at it confusedly. “Where did he go?” 

“I don’t know,” Damon told her. 

“When will he be back?” she asked. 

“I don’t know, but he did take all of his stuff, so…”

“Why?” 

“I don’t know,” Damon said again.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Elena couldn’t help but snort amusedly at the reminder of a memory from a couple months ago where Damon was on the other side of this situation. “Did words completely escape you?” she teased. 

Damon barked a laugh. “Touché. Seriously though, I asked. He didn’t answer. And since I’d already had my lights punched out once that night, I decided not to push the matter. If you want more info, I’d suggest you read the letter because I’ve told you all I got.” 

“Why did he punch you?” she asked, wondering if he found out about the kiss. 

“Letter, Elena,” Damon chuckled. He seriously had nothing else. Elena huffed but opened the letter and started to read. 

Elena,  
I’m sorry to just leave like this, but I couldn’t stick around. I’m also sorry for eavesdropping outside your house. I knew that Damon had been to see you and that he’d been messed up and I wanted to make sure you were okay, but when your aunt came in I was going to wait until you were alone. I thought that Damon and I could work together despite our feelings for you, but I was wrong. Knowing that you’re in love with him. That you love him more than you love me. I can’t take that, and with Katherine around that kind of distraction could end up getting us all killed or worse, so I’m bowing out. As much as I hate to say it, stick close to Damon. He’ll protect you, no matter what happens between you two.   
I would say that I hope you and Damon are happy together, but that’s a little too far for me right now. Maybe the fact that I will, one day, hope you’re happy together is good enough. I know that you haven’t decided what you want to do with your feelings yet, but we both know where it will go eventually. Unless of course, Damon screws it up again. He does have a habit of doing that. To be perfectly honest, right now I’m not sure if I’m hoping he does or not, but the part of me that still cares for my brother, despite everything, still has to ask you to be careful with him. His emotions are far more fragile than you know.   
I still love you, Elena, and part of me always will, which is why I’m also telling you to be careful with yourself. I’m sure you know how dangerous Damon can be when he feels backed into a corner, but try not to forget that. I know how it feels to be overwhelmed by feelings you don’t want and I’m not mad at you for falling in love with him. I hope you know that. Just like I’m not mad at him for falling in love with you. I may not be ready to wish you happiness together, but I still wish you both happiness in general. Take care of yourself, Elena. And take care of him too if you can.   
With love,  
Stefan

Elena felt the tears welling up in her eyes from the first sentence and it only got worse as she read. She was glad that she was already sitting because she wouldn’t have been able to hold herself up anyway. As soon as the tears started to fall, she felt Damon’s hand rest comfortingly on her shoulder and she glanced up at him. He gave her a worried look, but she just shook her head and went back to reading. Once she finished the letter, she folded it back up rather haphazardly and let it fall to her lap. “You okay?” Damon asked gently. 

She took a few deep breaths as she forced calm and nodded. “I know why he punched you if you’re curious.”

“Why?” Damon asked. 

“He knows about the kiss.”

“What? How? I didn’t tell him. Did you?” Damon asked. 

“No, but I told Aunt Jenna,” Elena explained. “And he had apparently been coming to check on me and overheard.”

Damon sighed heavily. “Listen, about that kiss. I’m sorry,” he had to say. He would get back to Stefan in a minute, but he had to get this out first. 

“Damon, don’t…”

“Just…let me say it,” He shifted uncomfortably. “Once I sobered up, I felt really bad about it. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that and I really hope you know that…no matter how drunk, upset, or messed up I was, I would never /ever/ have pushed it further. That was just about forcing you to let go of your denial. Nothing more. I still shouldn’t have done it though.” 

Elena reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know, Damon. I forgive you. And at no point was ever afraid of you forcing me into anything more. I know you better than that.” 

Damon sighed with relief. That was why he’d been avoiding her since it happened. “Good. I’m glad. Now…did Stefan say where he was going? He didn’t just leave because of the kiss did he? That would be stupid.” 

Elena fought with herself for a moment before handing him the letter. “Here. Just read it.” She knew that Damon needed to know why Stefan left. He was his brother. She just didn’t think she could say it. 

Damon had barely started the letter before he poured himself a drink and tossed it back. By the second paragraph, he had tossed back another. And a third. By the time he finished, he was slightly buzzed and resisting the urge to ball up the letter and throw it in the fire, but reminded himself that it wasn’t his. After a moment he unclenched his fist, smoothed out some of the wrinkles and handed it back to Elena without a word. “Damon…” Elena started worriedly. 

“Don’t,” he said firmly, still trying to keep a grip on his emotions as he poured himself another drink. 

“Okay,” Elena breathed out. “Just…please give me something. What are you thinking?” 

“You don’t want to know,” Damon told her. 

“Yes I do.”

“Fine. Right now I’m thinking that I wish I’d never met you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI writing this chapter had me bawling my eyes out, so fair warning.

Elena sucked in a sharp breath at the words before nodding, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes again. “I understand.”

“No. You don’t,” Damon snapped. “Because even as I say it and think it I know I don’t mean it.” 

“Then why…” Elena was just confused now. 

“Because I finally had my brother back, Elena. We were actually functioning as real brothers again,” Damon said sadly, pouring yet another drink. He knew that it was a mistake. Getting drunk again when he was this upset and especially around her, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t deal with this any other way. 

“Well…you were the one that promised him an eternity of misery,” she pointed out hesitantly. He had been the one to blame for the rift in the first place. 

“You should go, Elena,” Damon said tightly. “Remember how dangerous I am when I’m ‘backed into a corner’”

Elena shook her head. “No, I shouldn’t. You wouldn’t hurt me,” she said with certainty. Stefan had also asked her to look out for him and leaving him alone while he was hurting like this wouldn’t make her a very good friend, much less the potential more than friends at some point. “Just talk to me, Damon. Please.” 

“You heard the story, Elena,” Damon said as he paced. “You know what happened. I loved Katherine with every fiber of my being. At least I thought so at the time. Then he stole her from me. Then got her captured and killed. Told me that he never loved her at all. And then forced me to become a vampire against my will. Forced me to live forever without her. Of course, I promised him an eternity of misery. It was exactly what he sentenced me to!” 

“But she compelled him…”

“Bullshit,” Damon snapped. “Katherine swore that the only thing she ever compelled him to do was drink her blood. Everything else was on him. Normally, I wouldn’t trust Katherine if she told me that rain was wet, but in this case…If that were really true he wouldn’t have waited until a few months ago to tell me. He would have said so from the start.”

“Oh,” Elena couldn’t really think of anything to say to that. Damon had a good point. 

“I was ready to die, Elena. I almost was dead. I was ready for peace. He knew that I couldn’t fight him when he forced that blood down my throat. He took /everything/ from me. And you know what? I still stuck around. I tried to pull him back from the edge. I tried to help him. It was doomed from the start with my burning resentment, but at least I tried. Because he was my brother. And that meant something,” Damon threw his empty glass in the fire, watching it shatter. 

Elena got up and put a hand on his arm, but he jerked it away and just grabbed another glass to pour another drink. “I’m sorry, Damon.”

He ignored her. Now that he was saying it all out loud, he couldn’t stop, though that could have been the booze talking. “Every time he fell of the rails, I was there. I followed him around. Cleaned up his messes. Covered his tracks. Tried everything I could to help him and got him other help when I couldn’t take anymore. So I make things difficult for him whenever he tries to settle down somewhere and make a life like he stole from me. So I kill a few people he likes here and there. At least I’ve never destroyed his entire reason for being!” Damon slammed the glass down on the table a little harder than he intended. 

Elena went and poured herself a drink too. She needed it for this as much as he did. She didn’t drink nearly as much or as fast as he was though. “You’re a good brother, Damon,” she assured him. She would never have believed that before now, but now she had no doubts of that. 

“No, I’m not,” Damon said darkly. “If I were I wouldn’t have fallen in love with his girl,” Damon resumed his pacing. “And as much as part of me wants to blame you, or even the fact that I met you, I can’t. It’s not your fault. And things would be much worse if I hadn’t met you. I would still be the ‘monster’ that I was before and he wouldn’t have given me the time of day.” 

Elena took a deep breath before she asked what she thought he was getting at. “Does that mean you’re leaving too?” 

“No,” Damon sighed. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.” 

“Because of Katherine. Because she’s still a threat.”

“No, Elena,” he turned to look at her. “Because the very idea of walking away from you hurts a hundred times worse than losing Katherine back then did. Because no matter how much being around you drives me crazy, not being around you is even worse. Because the thought of losing you is more than I can bear. Because no matter how much I shouldn’t love you, I do. And it consumes me.” 

Elena’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest at the moment. It dawned on her that she didn’t just love Damon more than she loved Stefan. Damon loved her more than Stefan did. Stefan had walked away. Damon wasn’t even capable of it. Stefan couldn’t watch her and Damon together, but Damon did it every day just to be near her. Stefan was the better choice from a purely practical and moral standpoint, but when it came to the heart…Damon was by far the best choice. And the one her heart had chosen. Her mother had always told her that when it came to matters of love she should always listen to her heart over her head. 

She reached out and took Damon’s hand, pulling him to sit with her on the couch, and then she didn’t let it go. “I don’t know if I’m ready to just jump into another relationship right now,” Elena told him. “But I do love you, Damon and…maybe when I am ready…”

“I’ll be here,” he said simply, threading their fingers together. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “You know this won’t last though, right?” he had to say. 

“Why? Because you’re a fatalist and all relationships are doomed to end?” she asked almost amusedly. 

“No. Because I’m a realist,” Damon told her. “I’m not like Stefan. I can’t just stick my head in the sand and pretend that happily ever after is an option for us. It hasn’t been an option for me since the day I turned and every time I try to believe otherwise, it just makes everything so much worse.” 

“What do you mean?” Elena asked worriedly. 

“You’re human, Elena. Which means at most I get a few decades with you before you get old and sick and die and then I have to live the rest of forever without you. That or I turn you. And then you hate and resent me so much that you can’t stand to look at me anymore. Maybe you even go so far as to turn off your humanity because of it.” 

“Like Isobel,” Elena realized. “You loved her.”

“I cared about her,” Damon said. “I didn’t love her. She asked me to turn her and then she hated me for it. Just like you would.” He shook off the thought. “Those were just the scenarios that gave us the most time though, remember. The more likely would be that we get a few happy years at most before you realize that I can never give you what you want out of life. I can never give you children, a stable home, the white picket fence dream…hell I’d probably eat the dog when it pissed me off.” Elena couldn’t help but snort a laugh at that which had been his intention before he got back to the serious stuff. “Then you would leave me. Find someone who /could/ give you the life you want.”

“No, Damon. I wouldn’t,” she shook her head. 

“Then it would be even worse,” he told her. “Because you would stand by me anyway, knowing all those things. I would have to move on when people noticed I wasn’t aging and maybe you would come with me. You would keep aging though. By the time you looked old enough to be my mother, people would start talking. It would make you self-conscious and drive a wedge between us. We would start fighting and you would resent me for the rest of your life because for all that time we lived in the fantasy, your biological clock was still ticking and it would be too late for you to salvage anything of the life you wanted.” 

She saw the tears glistening in his eyes as her own trailed down her cheeks. “Then why are you still here? Why even bother?” she asked heartbrokenly. 

“Because even a few years with you would be worth the pain that will come later. Because those memories would sustain me. Remind me what it was like to be loved. What it was like to matter. To mean something to someone,” Damon said as just a few tears leaked from his eyes. 

Elena sniffled as she leaned forward and kissed him softly before resting her forehead against his cheek. “Then you’ll have your few years,” she promised. Maybe by then she would be good with giving him forever. She wasn’t going to risk repeating history by making that decision lightly though. 

He smiled softly and reached his hand up to cup her cheek, pulling back to look in your eyes. “And I promise…when the time comes for you to move on…I won’t make it difficult for you. I’ll let you go.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Can we please not talk about moving on, right now,” Elena whispered, shifting closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. 

“Okay,” Damon agreed, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head. “I thought you weren’t ready for this?” 

“I changed my mind,” she said, pulling his arm tighter around her. 

“Well you are a woman. That’s your prerogative,” Damon joked. “But for now you really should get home.”

“Why?” Elena asked, looking up at him. 

“Because I’m drunk and on an emotional rollercoaster here and I don’t want to take any chances of doing something I would regret,” Damon said as seriously as he could manage. 

“You wouldn’t hurt me, Damon,” she said confidently. 

“No. I wouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take advantage of you if the opportunity presented itself,” he told her. “And even if you do want to go there now, /I/ would rather our first time be when we both have clear heads.” 

Elena sighed and nodded. She got what he was saying. “Okay. But we’ll talk tomorrow?” 

“Absolutely,” he assured her before kissing her softly one more time. “I love you, Elena.” 

“I love you too,” she replied before heading home. She knew that she needed the day too. She was on almost as much of an emotional rollercoaster as Damon was. When she got home, she locked herself in her room and cried. She cried for losing Stefan. For Damon’s heartache. For their lack of future. Some of her tears were even happy tears for Damon’s love. Most of the tears though was for what he didn’t say when he was talking about wanting at least a few years with her. 

He implied that he had forgotten what it was like to be loved. That he didn’t mean anything to anyone. She remembered how different he was when they met. Even then she could see some part of him reaching out for something even as he tried to force it back. He acted like he didn’t feel anything, but most of the time his eyes betrayed him, even if she hadn’t noticed at the time. The only times his eyes had agreed with his attitude was when she was now positive that he was feeling the most. Probably because he was concentrating harder on keeping a lid on it. 

She had always known that he loved Katherine with an intensity that had honestly made her a little jealous. She wanted to be loved like that too, but now she was. Even more so if he was to be believed. He had said that losing her hurt so much more than losing Katherine had. She realized now that he felt everything with that kind of intensity. That’s probably why he kept such a tight lid on it. He’d tried to get her to leave before he lost it. He hadn’t wanted her to see it either, but she was glad that she had. 

Elena had been locked in her room for about two hours before there was a knock on the door. When Elena called to come in, Jenna stepped in the room and came to sit next to her. “I take it you finally managed to talk to Stefan?” 

Elena snorted derisively. “No. He left town.”

“Okay?” Jenna asked questioningly. 

“It’s…well…I’m guessing you know that he had a habit of sneaking in my window sometimes,” she admitted, not seeing any reason not to. Jenna was cool about stuff like that. 

“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m not as clueless as you and your brother seem to think I am sometimes.”

“Right. Well. Apparently the other night he was coming to do that and he heard us talking about Damon and everything. According to Damon, Stefan went home, packed his stuff, wrote me a letter, punched Damon and walked out,” Elena told her. 

“So he just left. Just like that. Without a word to anyone,” Jenna said distastefully. She had thought better of Stefan than that. 

“Pretty much,” Elena told her with a sniffle. “And Damon and I are together now.”

“Oh?” Jenna asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah. Stefan didn’t tell him anything. Where he was going, why, if he would be back. Damon was worried, so I let him read the letter, since I couldn’t exactly bring myself to say it out loud,” Elena said as she handed Jenna the letter. 

As Jenna read it, her eyebrows rose to her hairline. “Damon read this?” That had to have hit him like a ton of bricks. 

“Yeah. He didn’t take it well,” Elena huffed a laugh. 

“I would imagine not,” Jenna replied. “And how did this lead to you two getting together? Besides the whole spilling that you’re in love with him part.”

“Oh he already knew that. Or knew that I had feelings for him at least, even if he didn’t know just how much. It’s kind of a long story. Basically he tried to get me to leave, but the way he grabbed the whiskey almost as soon as he started reading told me that he needed a friend, so I wouldn’t go. I did a little prodding and he lost his temper.”

“At you?” Jenna asked worriedly. 

“No, not at me. Though he did say at one point that he wished he never met me,” Elena said sadly. 

“Yeah because that’s the basis of a good relationship,” Jenna chuckled. 

“He took it back right away. Or more like he told me that he knew that no matter how much he thought or said it that he knew he didn’t mean it. He did a little ranting and pacing. Talking about Stefan and how he was a bad brother and how he’d always tried so hard not to be and a lot of other stuff so I asked him if he was planning to leave to and he said no way.”

“And did he say why not?” Jenna asked, starting to get an idea of where this was going and completely understanding Elena’s decision, even if she did think it was too fast and maybe a little rash. 

“He said that walking away from me was never an option for him. That no matter how much it drove him crazy to be around me, not being around me was even worse. That he knew that he shouldn’t love me but he couldn’t help it and he couldn’t bear to leave me.”

“But Stefan did,” Jenna nodded. 

“Yeah. Stefan left. He just walked away. Damon couldn’t, but he did. Stefan didn’t want to have to see us together, but Damon dealt with it every day. Just because he couldn’t stand to be away from me,” Elena said angrily. 

“I get that,” Jenna agreed, and she couldn’t argue with it a bit. “But there are a few things that concern me.”

“Okay,” Elena told her, waiting for her to explain. 

“First…what’s this about a Katherine and killing people?” 

Elena winced. She had forgotten about that part of the letter. “Katherine is their ex. She’s a total psycho but Stefan exaggerates.” At least she hoped he was exaggerating, but knowing Katherine, he probably wasn’t. 

“Okay. Just please know that if things get out of hand…”

“I know, Aunt Jenna. If she crosses a line, I’ll let the appropriate people know,” Elena promised, careful with her wording. 

“Okay good,” Jenna said relieved. She had to admit that the part about Damon protecting her no matter what happened with them made her feel better. If Stefan thought that even when he was that upset, it must be even more true than she knew. It made her feel a lot better about the relationship with Damon and Elena except for…”What did he mean about Damon being dangerous when backed into a corner?” 

Elena snorted amusedly. “Damon has a tendency to lash out when he’s upset. But he has never and would never hurt me. Not physically anyway. His words cut a little deep sometimes.”

“Everyone’s do,” Jenna said sympathetically. “Just remember that there is a line between that and verbal abuse.”

“I know. And he would never go that far,” Elena assured her. 

“His drinking also concerns me,” Jenna told her. 

“I get that, but it’s not as bad as it probably seems. It’s just been a rough week. He just lost his brother and blames himself. Including the two times this week, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen him drunk. And today he made me leave because of it. Said that with him drinking and on an emotional roller-coaster that he didn’t want to take any chances of pushing things that shouldn’t be pushed.” 

“Okay,” Jenna nodded. She would still keep an eye out, but it sounded like it was all under control for the moment. “So was it just the whole him refusing to leave thing that brought you two together or was there more to it?” 

“There was a lot more, but it’s really personal and I don’t want to break his confidence. Let’s just say that you can learn a lot about someone when they’re drunk and emotional,” Elena said with a sad smile. 

“Oh believe me. I know that,” Jenna laughed. In her case it was usually learning things that made her run the opposite direction, but not always. “Well I’m happy if you’re happy, but do me a favor and be careful. With both of your hearts. Just remember that you’re both fragile right now.” 

“I know, Aunt Jenna. Thank you,” Elena said pulling her into a hug. 

“You’re welcome. Now come on. Let’s order some pizza for dinner.”


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next few weeks, Damon and Elena got closer but they didn’t end up sleeping together until they’d been together for a little over a month. The fact that it coincided with the day that they found out that she was a doppelganger and was supposed to be sacrificed for a ritual to break the curse on the oldest and strongest vampire in the world, was just a coincidence. Or so they told themselves. It seemed like the more they tried to find a way to prevent it the worse things got though. Damon was practically glued to Elena’s side, and he and Bonnie had even made peace so that Bonnie could be with her when Damon couldn’t like when they were at school. 

Elena was more than a little irritated at the constant protection, but couldn’t really blame them. They were just trying to look out for her. She just wished that she didn’t need it. Things came to a head during the sixties dance at school when Klaus invaded. She was more than a little freaked, but she told herself that she wasn’t going to judge Klaus based on other people’s opinions. When she learned that he was hijacking Ric’s body, Elena waved Bonnie off and went over to him. “Can we talk? Alone?” 

“Absolutely not,” Damon said before Klaus could answer. 

“Please Damon?” 

“I’ll let you talk, but I’ll be with you while you do,” Damon agreed after a moment. 

Elena nodded, knowing that was the best she was going to get and turned back to Klaus. “What do you say?” 

“Very well,” Klaus agreed and led the way to Ric’s classroom proving that he’d either done his research or been in Ric for a while.

“First, I want to ask…this ritual that you need me for…is there any stipulation that says that I have to be a certain age?” she asked. 

“No there isn’t. Why?” Klaus asked suspiciously. 

“Then I want to make a proposal. You let me live my life in peace and when I get old and near the end of my life anyway, I’ll come to you and participate willingly,” she told him. Damon winced at the idea of that, but he couldn’t really argue. If it were him he would take an easy way out when he got too old to enjoy life too. 

“You expect me to wait that long?” Klaus asked amusedly. 

“You’ve been waiting a thousand years already,” Elena pointed out. “What’s a few more decades?” 

“And why should I allow this?” 

“Because I have to believe that you have some compassion in you,” Elena said gently. She had no idea if he did or not, but she knew that treating people like they did tended to bring out any hidden qualities they had. It had worked with Damon after all. “I know that everyone says you’re a monster, but I don’t believe that.”

“You don’t know me,” Klaus said with narrowed eyes. 

“You’re right. I don’t. And for all I know everyone is right that you’re a monster, but I’m not going to judge you based on other people’s opinions. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but I think you’re more than that.” She could see that she was getting to him, but he was still fighting it, so she threw in the bonus. The excuse he would be able to use. “Besides…if you do this ritual and kill me now and something goes wrong, you’ll never get another chance. If you wait, I’ll have children and grandchildren and one day down the line, another doppelganger could pop up.” 

“You make a valid point,” Klaus said thoughtfully. “I’ll consider it,” he agreed. “There are three days before the ritual is to take place. I’ll let you know by then what I decide.” 

“Thank you,” Elena said gratefully as she and Damon walked out. 

Damon dragged her into the bathroom and turned on all the sinks. “What the hell was that?” 

“That was me trying to make a deal for my life without having to put anyone else in danger,” Elena pointed out. 

“Klaus doesn’t have compassion, Elena. You should know that.” 

“No. I don’t know that. He didn’t agree to consider it because of the possibility of me having kids one day. That was just an excuse. If you treat people like they have a heart, they’ll show you what little they have.” 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Damon told her. 

“I know. And I’m even willing to not leave the house after tonight until the full moon passes, just to be on the safe side. Now that it’s in my name, I’ll be perfectly safe from any other vampires,” she assured him. Even Stefan wouldn’t be able to get in without her invitation if he came back. Not that she expected him to. He’d barely contacted Damon and hadn’t contacted her at all, though she had heard from Caroline who he’d taken with him after he found out she turned. Damon definitely wasn’t in any position to hold a newborn vampire’s hand. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Damon said before turning off the water and leading them back to the dance. 

The next night, Klaus showed up on their doorstep and rang the bell. When Elena went to step out, Damon pulled her back. “You can talk from here,” he told them both. 

“Very well,” Klaus said with slight irritation. “I have considered your proposal, but here are my concerns. First, as a human, there are hundreds of freak accidents that could cost you your life early. Second, you’re dating a vampire. If he turns you then you’re useless and whether he turns you or not, you can’t have children with him. Third, it is far too easy for you to disappear and change your identity if you’re given the freedom to do so. While I could easily find you, there is no guarantee it would be before the end of your life.”

“I can see that,” Elena agreed. “Those are valid concerns. I can promise to be as careful as I can and that I won’t allow anyone to turn me into a vampire and Damon would never do it without my permission. There are other ways to have children even if Damon and I do end up staying together forever. I’m sure you’ve heard of sperm banks. I can also promise not to run.” 

“I have a better idea than empty promises,” Klaus told her. 

“Of course you do,” Damon muttered. 

Klaus pulled a necklace from his pocket. “You will put this on. Once it’s on it can never be removed except by me or the witch that spelled it.” 

“What will it do?” Elena asked before Damon could. 

“It will allow me to always find you wherever you are and should you die, it will allow your spirit to pass on but keep your body alive artificially and notify me at which point I will find you and do the ritual with your empty living shell. It will also make it impossible for you to be turned into a vampire since it won’t allow your body to die.”

“And we’re just supposed to take your word that’s all it does?” Damon asked suspiciously. 

Klaus looked at Elena. “Just as I’m taking your word that you will continue your line.” 

Elena took a deep breath and nodded, taking the necklace, as Damon said, “Elena…”

“It’ll be okay, Damon,” Elena told him. “I believe him,” she said looking into Klaus’ eyes as she raised the necklace to her neck. 

Damon didn’t like it, but it was better than the alternative, so he didn’t have much choice. As soon as it was on, Damon asked nervously, “Are you good? Do you feel okay? Normal?” 

Elena chuckled and kissed him. “I’m fine,” she assured him. “And I promise I’ll let you know if that changes.” She turned back to Klaus. “How can I contact you?” 

“This is the email address of one of my intermediaries,” Klaus said handing her a business card, pleased that she asked. It boded well for her trustworthiness. 

“Okay. Thank you Klaus,” she said with a smile. Klaus just nodded and left. 

“I really hope this isn’t some trick,” Damon said worriedly. “I still want you to stay in the house until after the full moon.”

“I was planning on it,” Elena told him. “Even if Klaus is on the up, there are others that want that ritual to go off. 

The full moon came and went with nothing out of the ordinary happening and Damon relaxed a lot after that. If Klaus was going to double-cross them it would probably have been then. Though he could be lulling them into a false sense of security, but he couldn’t stay on guard forever.


	6. Chapter 6

Elena moved in with Damon officially just before the start of senior year. If she was only going to get a few years with him, she was going to make the most of them. Bonnie had been approached by the professor that took her grandmother’s place, but as soon as her magic touched him, he gave her the creeps so she sent him packing. Caroline rejoined them for their senior year, now that she had her vampire nature under control, but Stefan didn’t come back with her. 

Once college started, she did spend the first semester in the dorms, just to get the experience under her belt, though Damon was a frequent visitor. After the first semester, Damon rented them a house nearby with rooms for Caroline and Bonnie as well. Elena was majoring in creative writing, Bonnie in occult studies like her grandmother, and Caroline in theater, so it was an eclectic group they had. Damon joked that he should have gotten a four bedroom when Bonnie ended up moving into Caroline’s room so she could use her room for magic. And to keep the massive number of grimoires she had. Some were from her own family and some were the ones that Luca and his father had collected that Bonnie had managed to save. 

Stefan ended up joining them halfway through sophomore year, but didn’t go to college. He did rent a house nearby though and renewed their friendships and his relationship with his brother. Elena and Damon had danced around the subject a bit, but it was implied that college graduation was their splitting point. Neither of them could bear to put it into words though, so it stayed an implication. Right up until the start of junior year when Bonnie skipped class one day to corner Damon when she was sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “How much do you love Elena?” Bonnie asked him. 

“With every fiber of my being,” Damon told her honestly. 

“You know how much it’s going to hurt her when you two break up after graduation, right?” 

Damon sighed sadly and looked out the window. “I know. But it would hurt her more if we didn’t.”

“I get that. But what if you didn’t have to?” Bonnie asked. 

“What do you mean?” Damon asked curiously. “I’m a vampire. She’s a human. That can’t be changed.” 

“What if it could?” Bonnie asked seriously. 

“If you give me time to finish my mental apology speech to Elena for killing her annoying best friend then I’m going to feel obligated to use it,” Damon huffed. 

Bonnie laughed at that and shook her head. “Okay okay. I’ll get to the point. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up yet, but there might be a way to make you human.” 

“What? How? If one of those old witches had found a way to do that, I would have heard about it,” Damon said suspiciously. 

“None of them did. But…I’ve found quite a few bits and pieces that, put together, might do the trick. If you don’t want it though, I’m not going to go to the trouble of figuring it out.”

“I want it,” Damon said quickly. 

Bonnie smiled and hugged him. “I hoped you would say that.” 

“And I hope you can figure it out,” Damon grinned as he hugged her back. “But if you do, I suggest you don’t tell anyone outside the family. It will paint a huge target on your back.”

“I know. But how will you explain it?” Bonnie asked. 

“I found a witch who could do it, but he’s dead now and the spell died with him. I’ll work on enough details between now and then to make it believable,” Damon told her. 

“Good enough. I’ll get to work on it, but don’t get your hopes up too much. It might not work and even if it does it’ll probably take a while to figure out. I’m not trying it until or unless I’m sure that it won’t kill you or cause any permanent damage.” 

“You’re a little too late on that one, Bon-bon,” Damon chuckled. “I’m not telling Elena or anyone else until it’s a done deal though. No need for anyone else to be crushed if it doesn’t work.”

“Way to put on the pressure,” Bonnie rolled her eyes amusedly. 

Damon did take the time to have a conversation with Elena soon after that. They were laying in bed cuddled up together and Damon was tracing nonsense symbols on Elena’s back. “If I were human, how would you see our life together?” 

“You would own a bar and we would live above it. We’d have two or three kids. No dog, but maybe a cat. We’d live in the city of course, since we’d be above the bar, but maybe a smaller city. With a lake nearby where we’d have a vacation home. I would be a novelist and maybe pick up some better paying jobs if we need the money and my books aren’t selling well,” Elena said wistfully. It definitely wasn’t the first time she’d thought about it. It had been the subject of more daydreams than she could count for the last few years. 

“I think I like that vision,” Damon said with a smile, leaning his head against hers. 

“I just wish it were possible,” Elena said sadly as she pressed a kiss to his chest. 

“I know, baby. Me too,” Damon told her, nursing the hope that one day it would be. 

It wasn’t until summer was getting ready to start when Bonnie went to Damon again. “I think it might work,” she told him. “I’ll need to track down some pretty rare ingredients before we can do it though. And we’ll have to wait for a lunar eclipse.”

“Get me a list of the ingredients. I’ll see what my contacts can scrounge up. Get me the amounts for three doses of this spell though. Just in case Stef or Care want to take advantage of it too once we’re sure we can pull it off.” 

It took until Christmas to get everything they needed, but as soon as he had a reasonable certainty that they would be able to get them, he started doing some real estate hunting. He found a small city close to Mystic Falls that had a bar with a four bedroom apartment above it. Technically it was two apartments with two bedrooms each, but he checked out the floor plan and could have them combined. The extra living room would become a library and he hadn’t decided yet what to do with the extra kitchen. Maybe a large office/study. If he was going to be running a business and Elena writing novels it would come in handy. 

He also talked to Jenna about the Gilbert lake house. After some conversation with her and Jeremy it was decided that Elena could have the lake house and Jeremy would get the main house. Since Damon knew that Elena wanted to live above the bar, he didn’t think she would have any problem with that idea. He knew that he had enough money that neither of them would ever have to work and she wouldn’t have to worry if her books didn’t sell, though getting him some foolproof identification for a real human life would take a good chunk of change he was sure. That was his next job. Finding someone that could do it. He wouldn’t go through with it until the change was complete, just in case, but he could get the legwork done. 

Once everything was set up and they had the date of the next full lunar eclipse which would be a month before graduation, it was time to tell everyone. Damon wanted to tell Elena first alone though. Once again, he waited until they were curled up in bed on a night that Caroline was out with whatever guy she happened to be dating this month so no vampire ears could overhear. “You remember when I asked you what you saw our future like if I was human?”

“Can we please not talk about this now?” Elena asked sadly. “Not when we’re so close to the end.” 

“What if there was hope?” Damon asked. 

“Hope for what?” Elena asked lifting her head to look at him confusedly. 

“Hope that I could be human and we could have that life.”

“Don’t joke like that, Damon. Please,” Elena begged. 

“I’m not joking. Bonnie thinks she found a way,” Damon said. 

“Thinks?” Elena asked, hope sparking in her eyes. 

“She’s been working on it for about a year and a half. We’ve spent the last six months trying to track down the rare ingredients and the full lunar eclipse where we’ll try it is in a month and a half,” Damon told her. 

“And I’m just now hearing about it?” Elena asked angrily. 

“We didn’t want to get your hopes up just in case it didn’t work out. I only knew because she came to me first and asked if I wanted it before she went to all the work to figure it out.” 

“Who else knows?” she asked and so help him if she was the only one kept in the dark…

“No one,” Damon told her. “We got enough of the ingredients to do it three times in case Stef or Care want in, but they don’t know about it yet. We were going to tell them in the next few days, but I wanted you to know first.” 

Elena huffed, still annoyed that it was kept from her, but at least no one else knew. Then the hope overrode the annoyance. “How sure is she?” 

“She’s a hundred percent sure that it won’t kill me or cause any permanent damage. She’s about seventy percent sure that it will make me human with about a ten percent chance of side effects.” 

“What kind of side effects?” Elena asked. 

“The biggest risk is heart defects since my heart hasn’t beaten in so long, but other organs might have issues too,” Damon told her. 

“So you could turn human just to die?” Elena asked worriedly. 

“Ten percent is pretty good odds in my opinion and even if it does happen, that’s what things like pacemakers and stuff is for. It’s not necessarily going to be fatal.” 

Elena kissed him deeply, happier than she’d been in a while. She might not have to lose him after all. It wasn’t until the next morning that she started having doubts. “Are you really sure about this, Damon?”

“Absolutely,” he told her. “I’ve been a vampire for a long time, Elena, and I would give it up in a second to be your husband. Your partner. The father of your kids.”

“You can’t do it just for me,” she told him. 

“I’m doing it for us,” Damon told her. “Because even if it all goes to hell and I end up miserable and alone, the smallest chance at the perfect life with you is infinitely better than an immortal one without you.” She looked at him with a hopeful smile. “I love you, Elena. And I will love you until I take my last breath on this earth, whether it’s as a human or as a vampire.” When she nodded as her smile broadened, Damon pulled her into a loving kiss. 

Stefan and Caroline both wanted to do the spell too, but they would have to wait for more full lunar eclipses since Bonnie could only do one at a time, partially because of the time and partially because of the power it would take. She assured them that she could handle it without hurting herself though. Both Stefan and Caroline were glad not to be the guinea pigs at least, not that either of them said so to Damon or Elena.


	7. Chapter 7

When the day came for the ritual, Elena and Bonnie skipped classes that day, Elena to spend Damon’s last day as a vampire with him and Bonnie to get everything ready and set up for the ritual. It required a lot of prep time and she wanted to have time to double and triple check everything to make sure she didn’t make a mistake. At sundown, Elena and Damon headed into the magic room to meet Bonnie. No one else would be in the room since Bonnie didn’t want any distractions. Bonnie only allowed Elena to be there when she promised to stay still and quiet and not interfere in any way. Elena wanted to be there badly enough that she easily agreed to that promise.

Once they were in the room, Damon stripped naked and went to sit in the center of the ritual circle getting himself comfortable. “You’re gonna want to lay down as soon as you drink this,” Bonnie told him. “I don’t think you realize how much this is going to hurt.” 

“I don’t think you realize how much pain I can handle,” Damon chuckled, but stopped suddenly before he could drink. “Oh crap. Is it gonna mess us up if I take a second?” 

“We’re a little ahead of schedule so go ahead,” Bonnie told him. 

Damon got up and went over to Elena, “I need you to take your bracelet off for a minute.”

“Why?” Elena asked worriedly, but did so anyway.

Damon looked into her eyes and compelled her, “Remember.” Once she got the memory back into focus, she looked at him like she wasn’t sure whether to yell at him or not. “Sorry. I forgot about that one until just now.” 

“We’ll talk about that later,” Elena told him shaking her head amusedly as she kissed him one more time.

“Damon,” Bonnie called to let him know that it was time. 

“See you on the other side, baby,” Damon grinned and rushed back into the circle and picked up the goblet again. As Bonnie suggested he laid down after drinking it as she started to chant. It only took a few seconds for Damon to realize that he’d been overly cocky about the pain as his back arched and screams ripped from his throat. 

Elena had her hands over her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks, forcing herself not to intervene as her boyfriend writhed around on the floor screaming in agony as Bonnie chanted. Elena wasn’t sure if she was glad or not when Damon lost consciousness after the first half hour. At least she could still see his chest moving and his grimaces of pain changing every so often even in his unconscious state. 

As soon as Bonnie quit chanting and stumbled back into her chair and the candles died, Elena rushed to Damon’s side, trying to wake him up but it wasn’t working. She checked his breathing which seemed fine and then checked for a pulse. She let out a hysterical laugh when she found one for the first time, but it wasn’t right. “Bonnie, his pulse is too slow. I think I need to get him to a hospital.”

“Not yet. Give me a second and I’ll try a basic healing spell. It’s probably just his heart taking a bit to get used to beating again after so long,” Bonnie told her, calling one of the grimoires to her hand and flipping through to find the right spell. Once she found it she went over and knelt next to him with her hands on his chest. A short chant later and his pulse was speeding up and Damon was groaning as he tried to open his eyes. 

“Did anyone get the number of that bus?” he croaked out, throat parched from the screaming. 

“Damon!” Elena cried happily leaning over to hug him tightly, but let go when he let out another groan. “Sorry. How do you feel?” 

“Sore, hungry, tired, my throat’s raw…but I can feel my heart beating,” he grinned. “It worked.” 

“It did,” Elena said with tears in her eyes. “Lets get you up to bed and I’ll get you something to eat and drink. And tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment for a checkup with particular emphasis on your heart.”

“Yes, dear,” Damon chuckled before groaning in pain again as he tried to get up. 

Elena knew that if she tried to help him he would still have to put too much strain on his body, so she went to get Caroline and Stefan to use their vamp strength to help. No one batted an eye at his nakedness. While none of them went out of their way to see it, sharing the same house for so long meant it definitely wasn’t the first time. While they took him upstairs, Elena raided the kitchen for leftover pizza and grabbed a large glass of ice water for him too. 

Stefan stopped her before she went back up, glancing at the plate in her hand. “Get the other pizza,” he told her as he took the water from her to take up himself. 

“Why?” 

“He was allergic to mushrooms when he was human before. Best to not take chances.” 

“Right,” Elena said turning around and grabbing the pepperoni and sausage instead of the ham and mushroom. 

When she got up there, Caroline and Stefan were on either side of the bed and kept checking his pulse almost in awe that there was one at all. When Elena saw the blush on Damon’s face she laughed and kicked them both out with the excuse to check on Bonnie. She’d never seen him blush before since it wasn’t possible for vampires. “You’re blushing,” she pointed out. 

“I guess it was too much to hope for that that particular reaction wouldn’t come back,” Damon scrunched up his nose as he took the pizza from her. 

“You were a blusher then?” she asked amusedly. She’d heard quite a bit about his human life but not that part. Or the allergies. 

“Very much so. I was also very shy,” he told her. “It wasn’t a good combination.” 

She laughed and reached out her hand to brush down his cheek, marveling at the newfound warmth there as they spent the next little while talking while Damon ate and drank two more glasses of water before they went to bed. Damon in particular was exhausted from the stress that he’d undergone during the ritual. 

Damon didn’t wake up until noon the next day and Elena had to wake him up for his doctor’s appointment which was at one thirty. He was still stiff and sore, but not nearly as bad as he’d been last night. He took a quick shower before getting dressed. He left with a mostly clean bill of health, though he was on medication for low blood pressure. Hopefully it would be temporary, but even if it wasn’t it was a small price to pay. 

Damon detoured them on the way home though to the nearby nature park where he got down on one knee and proposed. Elena immediately said yes and jumped into his arms the second the ring was on her finger. Damon had bought it months ago in anticipation of this day. Once Elena finally let him go, she took a selfie of them with her showing off the ring and sent it to everyone. Once they got home, Damon called Ric, who was now married to Jenna, to let him know that he was human again. Since Ric was the only one left that knew about him being a vampire he had to know, but gave the story about finding a random witch to do the spell just in case. 

Damon soon found himself fitted with a vervain bracelet to match Elena’s since he was human and vulnerable now. Since everything was said and done, Damon finally let Elena in on what he’d been doing for the last six months, showing her the deed for the bar along with pictures of that and the just finished remodeled apartment. When she realized how close it was to Mystic Falls she rewarded him handsomely for it, and even more when he presented her with the signed over deed for her family’s lake house. “What no cat?” she joked. 

“I figured you might want to pick that out yourself since I want nothing to do with the little furball,” Damon teased. 

“I was kidding. The cat was more for the kids once they come along anyway,” she told him. 

“I know you’re not quite done with college yet, but since there’s only a couple months left and…” she pounced on him before he even finished getting the words out as they made their first try for a baby. 

Elena didn’t end up getting pregnant though until halfway through the summer. Damon had been downstairs working at the bar when she took the positive test and she ran down waving the test and yelling, “I’m pregnant!” as she jumped into his arms. He laughed and spun her around happily as the whole place cheered. They had been getting worried and considering having him tested for fertility, but that wasn’t necessary now. 

It was almost Christmas before the next time the ritual could be done and Stefan let Caroline go next despite her protests that he’d been a vampire longer so should have the next chance. The next summer Stefan finally got his chance not long after his nephew was born. Damon Joseph Salvatore was the baby’s name, after his father and paternal grandfather. The next Salvatore baby was a girl. Miranda Lilian. And then another boy. Grayson Matthew. 

Elena signed the Salvatore house over to Stefan once he was human and he made that his home. It was only a thirty minute drive from the city, so he was at the bar often, along with Ric. Caroline wasn’t much of a drinker, but she visited with Elena and the babies often, as did everyone else. When Stefan eventually married and had children of his own, their aunt and uncle doted on them just as much as Stefan had doted on his niece and nephews. 

When Elena was diagnosed with cancer at age seventy four and given no more than six months to live, she sent an email to Klaus, as promised. Damon was a wreck, but allowed it. Only because otherwise she was looking at six months of pain and sickness. They had a big family dinner with their three children and their spouses along with their eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren the night before the ritual was to take place. 

Damon insisted on being there, knowing that Klaus wouldn’t recognize him now so there was little risk of him knowing about the spell to turn a vampire human. He wasn’t going to let his wife die without him as close to her side as possible. Klaus allowed him to be present, but he was guarded by one of Klaus’ loyal vampires to make sure that he didn’t interfere. When Elena’s body fell, Damon hit his knees, tears streaming down his face and hadn’t moved yet when everyone else cleared out. Since the ritual had healed the cuts on her wrists, Damon called 911 and told them that his wife collapsed. The story was that they had been out reliving some old memories at the quarry when she collapsed. Damon made it as long as her funeral before his heart gave out. He just couldn’t live without her.


End file.
